“The ephemeral dominates our life. Only the present is clear and accurate, both past and present are blurred. I want to translate this idea onto canvas.”
Scroll is pleased to present burning edge, a solo exhibition of new works by Johanna Bath. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition in the United States.
In her new body of work, Bath continues her relentless exploration and appreciation of time, memory, and emotion, captured through a dreamlike, nostalgic lens. Sensual and intimate, Bath’s hazy compositions reflect her interest in the presence of a body within a painting and the atmosphere and tension it creates, building an intimate room for the audience to experience.
Inspired by a very personal encounter, Bath explores memory and the act of keeping memory alive through capturing snippets of the human form, hands, and floral arrangements that create an atmosphere of tenderness between the painting’s surface and the viewer. Bath states, “By cropping the image to a detail, showing only a closeup of a face, hand, an expression, it feels like I am replicating the way we look when we take our time to carefully (and slowly) observe our surroundings. It is like a zoom to emphasize something I believe is worth seeing.” Each canvas invites the viewer into a story woven by Bath that feels personal and intimate while not becoming intrusive – delicately letting the viewer in to encounter and share an experience of sensuality.
Johanna Bath (b. 1980) currently lives and works in Hamm, Germany. She studied at Bildkunst Akademie, Hamburg and Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaft, Hamburg. Bath is represented by Enari Gallery, Amsterdam, and has exhibited across Europe and globally, including with BLANKgallery, Shanghai; Pipeline Contemporary, London; Stems Gallery, Paris; MINT Gallery, Munich; YOD Gallery, Tokyo; Coulisse Gallery, Stockholm; and Eve Leibe Gallery, among others. She participated in a three-person exhibition at Scroll NYC in 2023.
This exhibition is presented in collaboration with Enari Gallery, Amsterdam.
